Update: Madison traffic-calming meetings scheduled for April 16

Update:Please note this post has been updated to reflect the fact that the meeting has been moved to April 16 (from March 25) due to a conflict with the Passover holiday.

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Honk now or forever hold your peace.

Motorists, cyclists, runners and walkers can weigh in April 16 on the proposal to reduce Madison Avenue to three lanes between Lark and South Allen streets.

The city will host two public meetings that day — one at 11 a.m. and one at 6:30 p.m. — at the Touhey Forum in the Lally School of Education at the College of Saint Rose.

You can read the full details of the proposal here, but it broadly calls for reducing the 1.6-mile stretch of the busy road from four lanes (two in each direction) to three lanes (one each way with a shared central turning lane).

The hope is the new configuration would significantly improve the safety of the road, which is frequented by cyclists and pedestrians but is also a main commuter route, without snarling traffic.

The police department is behind the changes but awaiting public input on the draft report before making any final decisions. Money would also have to be found to pay for the reconfiguration, which would include potentially expensive upgrades to traffic lights in order to time them.

One of the key unanswered questions is how bicycles would be accommodated, for which there are three options: Exclusive bike lanes, a shared parking lane or cyclists sharing a wider driving lane.

City officials say the content of each meeting will be the same, so those who are interested in the proposal need only attend one.